Lydia crept a hand across the table until she hovered over Maddie’s arm. Brushing her fingertips across Maddie’s wrist, she patted it in a foreign way, trying to offer what little comfort she could.
“But,” Maddie continued, “I don’t—I don’t really want that mentioned in the article, if that’s okay.”
Lydia’s stomach dropped out from under her. “Wha—may I ask why?”
“I just—I think it would make my dad sad. He doesn’t really talk about Mom much. Not even to Grandma.”
Lydia nodded. She’d have to figure out a way to get Cam’s approval. Though Maddie technically didn’t say ‘off the record’, she was not about to do the same thing to the Tripp family as she did to Noah Blue. Or to anyone, for that matter.
Lydia offered a half-smile. “It sounds like you like talking about your mom though, right? It’s no secret to your community that this auction is in her memory.”
“That’s true.” Maddie nodded, though it lacked the energy she had earlier. “I love talking about Mom. I just don’t like my dad to be sad.”
“I bet your dad would love to see you happy. Maybe I can talk to him for you.”
Maddie’s lips tilted slightly into a grin. “You wanna come over for dinner?”
Lydia smiled, her mind still on Cam. “I would love to.”
‡
Chapter Five
“Well, here we are,” Cam said, unlocking the front door to his guest cottage. He took a moment to admire his handy work of the rental cottage. This little house had been hardly more than a shed when he and Hannah had first bought this home. He built it from scrap wood and free materials he found around town and in nature. The mantle was carved from a fallen pine tree. He found most of the appliances at garage sales and in the garbage, and tinkered with them until they worked once more. “And here are the keys to your car for the week.” He dropped the keychain to the white Subaru Outback onto the counter, stepping back.
“Wow.” Lydia’s eyes widened as she walked around the cottage. Her touch trailed over the carved banister leading to the lofted bunk beds for his guests who came with children. “This is—Cam, this place is stunning.”
Did he hear her right? His insides warmed to mushy goo for all of a second before rational thought took over again and he narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re joking, right? I wouldn’t exactly peg the city girl as one who loves country cabin charm.”
“You got me there. But this place is beautiful.” She continued to stroke the mahogany banister. Cam’s mouth dried to dangerous levels and all the heat rushed below the belt as she gripped the wood. He strolled beside her, resting a hand just above hers.
“I actually carved the banister myself.”
“Seriously? You’ve got some talent besides fixing sinks and showers, I see.” She tapped his arm, and her teasing tone skimmed over him like a gentle summer’s breeze.
He waved her comments away. “I only help out around town when folks need it. They were all so great to my family when—” He caught himself, pausing. “—when we needed them most. I pick up the slack tightening some doorknobs and loose pipes when it’s needed.”
“So then where did you learn to do this?” She tapped the carved banister.
“My dad taught me how to carve when I was a kid. I used to hate it. It was always on Saturday mornings that he would drag me out of bed at the crack of dawn to the shed. All I wanted was to be inside, planted in front of the television with Saturday morning cartoons. But I was glad he made me keep at it. Wood carving turned into building small things and finally, furniture.” He nodded to a chair in the corner. “That was my first full piece I ever built.”
Lydia crossed to the chair and lowered herself into it. The front tilted forward and to the left—the one chair leg he hadn’t measured quite right.
“I didn’t quite know my way around wood yet, back then.”
“It’s got a lot of character.” Lydia tucked one foot under her, straightening herself in the chair.
Cam grinned as she propped an elbow onto the slanted armrest. “Which is pretty much what my dad said, too. Unfortunately, I think that’s just a nice way of saying ‘it sucks’.”
Lydia swallowed and pushed off the armrests to a standing position. “How long ago did your dad pass away?”
Cam stilled. How did she—
“Maddie told me,” she added, as though reading his thoughts.
“A long time ago. I was just a teenager.”
Lydia’s nod was serene—empathetic. “It’s nice that you have this to remember him by.” Her voice was distant as she trailed a hand across the chair. And it seemed like she was no longer referencing his past, but her own.
He cleared his throat and stepped back. “Well, I should let you get settled. Over here are your linens. The bathroom’s through that door. Your WiFi password is taped to the fridge—”
“Cam—” Lydia tried to interrupt, but Cam didn’t dare look back at her. One look into those gray eyes and he wasn’t sure his self-control would stay intact.
“The master bedroom is through that doorway. If there’s anything else you need, I’m just a few steps away—”
“Cam!” She was firm enough to this time make him pause. He turned, meeting her gaze, and she touched his arm. “Thank you. For letting me stay here. If the hotel doesn’t reimburse you, the City Star certainly will.”
An exhilarating tension cabled between them with that single touch. “Don’t worry about it. It’s all to help Maddie’s cause.”
“You mean… your wife’s cause, right?”
What did she know about Hannah? Cam’s heart lurched, and Hannah’s big, brown eyes flashed across his mind. “You have a nice night, Lydia.”
Lydia turned to her luggage and knelt while undoing the zipper. “Thanks again, Cam. I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Yep—wait, what?”
“Maddie invited me. Is that okay?”
“Uh…”
“I mean, I certainly don’t have to come. I can always just order delivery or something.” She paused, clicking her tongue. “Oh, crap. I don’t have cash. Never mind, I’ll figure something out—”
“Lydia, it’s fine.” Cam said. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“Thanks.” She flipped open her luggage, and Cam’s eyes drifted to several lacy bras piled on top. There was a twinkle of satisfaction in her gaze that challenged him. Dared him to make a move.
“Give us about thirty minutes, okay?” he said, backing to the door. What was he so afraid of, anyway? It was just a normal dinner at his house with an added guest.
But he knew better than to believe that. Lydia was anything but your average houseguest. She was a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing, and Cam was the house made out of straw. And if he was blown to a pile of debris, he’d have no one to blame but himself.
*
“I just don’t see why you had to invite her over for dinner, Madelynn. She’s a grown woman. She can feed herself. And she’s already staying in our guest house,” he grumbled.
The two rushed around their small two-story home, cleaning furiously. Maddie carried an armful of toys to her closet. Normally, that was the sort of half-assed cleaning that Cam would scold her for, but tonight they had very little choice.
Cam ran the Swiffer over the floors as fast as he could. He’d already wiped down the counters and table. It was like a race, where the track started in the foyer and circled into the kitchen, around the island, and into the open living section off to the side.
“She’s so cool. Isn’t she cool, Dad?” Maddie rushed, circling around him, breathlessly excited.
“Yeah. Sure. The coolest,” he mumbled.
Maddie stood in front of him, gathering various coloring books. How the hell she managed to get from upstairs in her room to here in the kitchen a matter of seconds baffled him. “And,” Maddie continued, “she’s really nice. I like her.”
“You think she’s nice?” The Swiffer stopped mid-sweep
. Cool, he could understand. But nice? She wasn’t exactly the most loving thing toward Maddie from where he had observed the two.
Maddie nodded. “Yeah. And smart. And pretty. And did you see her pictures? I hope someday I’m that good.”
Cam’s smile just barely curved his lips, and Maddie hugged a bunch of stuffed animals that she had left in their TV room. She looked so small, so fragile. “You’ll be amazing at whatever you choose to do, Mouse. It just might take a little hard work.”
“Do you think Lydia has any stuffed animals?” She looked down at her arms, a nervous pout settling over her face. Her favorite koala bear was clutched closest to her heart amidst the crayons and coloring books and homework.
“If I know women, I’d bet she has at least one tucked away into the back of her closet somewhere.”
“Just like Mom, right?”
He stiffened. That was twice in one day that she had mentioned Hannah in reference to something Lydia had said or done. As though Lydia was filling that void. But come Monday? Lydia would be gone and if Maddie had any sort of false pretenses about her friendship with Lydia, it could break her heart. He tried to ignore the aching emptiness that gnawed from behind his breastbone and swallowed. “That’s right. Just like Mom.”
Her face lifted from its pout as though the corners of her mouth were attached to strings and she took off up the stairs, taking the toys with her.
Only a few minutes later, just as Cam had finished wiping the counters and Maddie had set the table, the bell rang. Her body wriggled in the seat, nearly slipping off.
“Well, what are you waiting for? She’s your guest… let her in.” Cam gestured to the door.
Like a puppy waiting for a command, Maddie bolted, charging the door.
*
Lydia stood on their doorstep for a few minutes. Their house was small, but so beautiful that it could have been ripped out of the page of a children’s book. Curtains adorned the windows. An old brass knocker was on the door. The house itself was about a fifty foot walk away from the cottage she was staying in, right on the lake, and she could make out a glimpse of a deck with stairs leading to a dock. The town center wasn’t far, either… a mile, maybe two? Far enough away that she was glad to have a car, though she probably could have managed without one.
After a moment to collect herself, she rang the bell. Voices and feet shuffled from the other side. Finally, the door swung open and Maddie stood there, grinning from ear to ear. “Hi, Ms. Ryder.”
“You can call me Lydia.”
“Really?” Maddie looked over at Cam, who tilted his head with a slight lift of his shoulders as if to say why not?
“Come on in, Lydia.” Maddie grabbed her hand and before she could flinch or protest, Lydia was being dragged through the front door. The foyer opened into a combined living and dining room with a staircase to her immediate left.
Picture frames decorated the stairway wall, but Lydia barely had a moment to look before Cam was in front of her, holding out his arm, palm up. “Hope you’re getting settled into the house. If there’s anything else you need, be sure to tell me.”
His formal tone blanketed her, smothering her. “Thanks again for having me tonight.” Lydia shivered and brushed some dusty snowflakes off her leather jacket.
Cam stared at her, eyes drifting to the light jacket with a small quirk to his lips. His lower lip was more plump than the top lip and one side of his mouth tilted up toward his eyes, amused. “Pretty cold out there, huh, city slicker?”
Lydia laughed and shuffled herself out of the jacket. One arm got stuck on the button of her silk shirt sleeve.
“Here, let me help.” Cam grabbed the lapel and helped as she shrugged out of it. His knuckles brushed down the length of her arm, and her body shivered in response. From over her shoulder, they locked eyes. Moonlight streaming through the window caught in their blue sheen, and they twinkled at her, rippling with the depths of an ocean.
Maddie tugged on Lydia’s hand, thundering through their moment. “I’ve got something to show you! I’ve got something to show you!”
“Um, okay. So, show me.” Why do kids tell you what they’re gonna do? Just do it, already.
“Okay. I’ll go get it.” She took off running up the stairs, her feet clomping against the floor. For such a little thing, she sure did make a lot of noise… what was she? All of seventy pounds?
Cam stood with his weight equally distributed, hands in his pockets. “Thanks for showing up. It means a lot to Maddie.”
“It’s my job to stick to her. A journalist’s job doesn’t end at five o’clock.”
A moment of shock registered across Cam’s face. “Does Maddie understand that? That you’re still on the clock?”
Before Lydia could answer, Maddie came bounding back down the stairs. She halted at the base, breathing heavily. “Dad. Did you not invite her in past the coat closet?”
Lydia’s laugh combusted like shrapnel, one of those laughs that sneaks up on you and surprises not only everyone else, but yourself as well. She clapped a hand over her mouth.
“We were waiting for you, kid.” Cam grinned in a way that brightened his whole face. He turned and held a hand out, throwing a playful smirk her way. Lydia went to step, only her shoes suddenly felt like they had bricks strapped to them. Was she sure she wanted to do this? She didn’t exactly know what was making her hesitate, but it just seemed as if she were intruding on their private time.
His palm flattened to the small of her back, gently guiding Lydia into the kitchen. “Well, come on.”
Her heels clicked softly against the hardwood floor as she approached Maddie, already propped in a chair at their kitchen table. The kitchen was warm and smelled like a combination of cleaning supplies and cookies.
“Are you baking?” Lydia asked.
Cam shrugged, a sheepish look surfacing. “It’s just those premade slice and bake cookies.” The walls were painted a soft, buttery yellow; the cabinets, a dark, ebony wood. Sweet, ruffled curtains with lemons on the fabric hung from the window above the sink. There was a definite woman’s touch to the kitchen that hung in the air like the lingering scent of Pine Sol. Lydia couldn’t help but think of who that woman was—the woman who birthed and raised a baby girl. The woman who had captured Cam Tripp’s heart.
“Lydia?” Maddie was looking at her curiously, and she quickly shook the thoughts away.
Lydia wasn’t here to find a date. She wasn’t here to discover some sort of dormant maternal instinct. She was here to write a story and prove to Mara that she could handle any assignment thrown at her—no matter how boring—and turn it into something their tabloid-loving readers would enjoy.
Maddie patted the chair next to her and Lydia sat, as instructed. “So… what have you got for me?” she asked, tossing back her hair so she could see.
Maddie mimicked the movement, tossing her hair over a shoulder as well. “My portfolio.” She pushed a faux-leather spiral-bound binder toward Lydia, her face bright, hopeful.
Lydia blinked a few times and looked down at the book, shocked. It wasn’t all that often that things shocked her anymore. “You have a portfolio? Since when?”
Cam laughed from over by the sink. “Oh, since about an hour ago. She begged me to swing by the store and get her one.”
Lydia nodded. “How… professional of you, Maddie. It never hurts to present your work in a clean and, um, organized manner.” Lydia inspected the corners of the album. They were dinged and dented. The leather had scraped off in one corner, and she wondered how long it had been sitting on the shelf at the drug store.
She cleared her throat and looked into Maddie’s big, brown eyes. The little girl sat straight with her shoulders back, but beneath that, Lydia could see more. Trepidation. She valued Lydia’s opinion—respected it.
“Well, let’s have a look at what’s inside.”
Maddie nodded, chewing on her bottom lip as Lydia opened the binder to the first image—a photograph of a flower. Pre
tty predictable. It was a little out of focus.
“That one’s fuzzy,” Maddie said, her little head shaking nervously. “But I decided to put it in still because I think roses are pretty.”
“That’s the camera shake I was telling you about. The camera’s just too heavy for you. You should consider removing this image eventually. Roses are pretty, but I bet you have other images that are even prettier. More unique.”
The next image was a fallen tree. A few flowers were sprouting up from around it and then below the tree was one piece of trash. “What made you choose to photograph this particular tree?” Lydia asked, looking closer at the photo. She could see a few other fallen trees in the background.
Maddie shrugged, squirming in her seat. “I just—I don’t know. I think—I liked the flowers. But I also liked the soda can. They’re just so different from each other, I thought it was… cool.” Self-doubt clouded her eyes.
“Yes!” Lydia exclaimed louder than intended and Maddie jumped. Scaling her voice back a few octaves, she continued. “You’re absolutely correct. That’s a really cool tactic artists like to use—it’s called juxtaposing. Choosing this tree stump as opposed to one that only had flowers makes this photograph more interesting. Plus, you put your point of focus on the trash, which subtly draws our attention there first.”
“Well, that was probably just an accident.” Despite her humble answer, Maddie was beaming.
“I’ll tell you another secret, Maddie. Half the crap I take is accidental.”
Maddie’s eyes widened, and her gaze darted over to Cam. From over near the sink, he cleared his throat, eyebrows shooting up.
“What? What’d I say?” Lydia asked.
He tilted his head to the side, still at the sink doing God knew what, and shook off some water from his hands. “We don’t use curse words in this house. Right, Madd?” His denim jeans darkened with water while he leaned a hip against the porcelain sink.
Capturing You (Maple Grove Romance Book 1) Page 6
